Marcus Estes: Chroma.Fund

WTF is Money: The Past and Future of Cold, Hard, Cash

Just after the financial crash of 2008, I gave a talk to a small audience about the true function of money in our modern capitalist economy (https://vimeo.com/2637829).

It's been 6 years, and we seem to be living in an entirely different world. The stock market has reached new heights and traditional economic indicators are relatively bright. But how different is our current environment to the conditions in 2007?

This presentation will begin with the historical origins of money as a representation of value, then take the audience on a jaunty walk through a modern theory of credit, debt, and fractional reserve banking. Finally, we'll conclude with a look at the potential utopias and dystopias that may be arrive with the coming of a new age of crypto-currency.

Marcus Estes is the co-founder and CEO of Chroma.fund, a Portland-based startup using the Bitcoin blockchain to build a local stock market. Previously he released the world’s first podcast music license, helped launch the Free Music Archive, collaborated with nonprofits to build open source software systems for fundraising and volunteer management, and toured with Kanye West as a technical consultant.